"I didn't even touch your little lover." He was referring to the woman Kakashi had "heroically saved" that day. Even though he immediately blinded her afterward, at least she was still alive.
Kakashi hated that casual, mocking tone. But he had no energy to argue.
"Even if they're enemies, they're still human. I know how Konoha treats prisoners, but what you're doing isn't it." His voice was sharp.
Anko didn't even bother to take it seriously. She gave him a cold glance, then suddenly reached out and pulled off the cloak he always wore. His left arm was gone. Empty. Nothing remained.
Kakashi froze for a fraction of a second. He hadn't been ready to face himself like this. Not yet. Not in the light.
"So you already forgot how you lost that arm, huh, Kakashi?" Anko's voice sounded almost gentle. Like she was lecturing a child. As a former classmate, the words were cruel, but not unfair.
Kakashi hadn't forgotten. Then Anko went even further. "The moment you died, you stopped being Konoha's Kakashi. So what are you now? Do you even know? I'm only saying this because of old times, giving you face. So don't say anything that makes me laugh. You think I don't know why those people are still alive?" Her tone sharpened. "As long as even one survives, even if I kill the rest, no one would care, except you."
Under the mask, Kakashi's face went pale. What am I? Konoha's dog? Or Akatsuki's Kakashi? He understood. This was punishment. For choosing on his own. For trading his arm for the lives of 361 people.
Not far away, Hyuga Neji watched with a satisfied smile. Yes, that expression is perfect. He had originally wanted to say it himself, but realized having Anko say it would be far more dramatic. So he spoke instead. "Hey, Anko. What's your MPa over there?" "8.96 just now. Men's bodies are tougher, try 9.89." "Mine's 8.5. Yours 9.5." "Okay. Boys, start working."
BOOM. Kakashi's vision blurred. Dust entered his eyes. Tears formed instinctively, but no matter how he rubbed, he couldn't clear them.
He couldn't kill Anko or Neji. It would only make things worse. The antidote to Jofuku Flower poison only existed in the hands of the poisoner. Not even Tsunade could recreate it. Resistance meant death. Not just his death, but everyone's. Slow death. One by one.
Screams echoed again. From both the men's and women's cells. Kakashi stood there like a scarecrow in a rice field, completely still. The noise filled his ears until they rang painfully. His heart hurt. His wounds hurt. Everything hurts.
He didn't want to hear it anymore. Didn't want to hear the screaming. The begging. The breaking voices. So he ran. Away. Far away. The sound followed him anyway.
He ran through the rain. Downstream. Back. Back to a place that once felt like home. My home with Obito. Grass, trees, flowers, everything from Konoha.
The rain grew heavier. PAPAPAPA. The sound was like water striking skin, like a whip.
Kakashi broke. He cried. He screamed. Alone in the empty riverbank. His only remaining hand slammed into the ground again and again. Mud splattered. Water burst upward. Blood mixed into it. His blood. His hand split open, but he didn't feel it.
He tore off his mask and gasped for air. He saw it. Konoha's trees. Konoha's plants. Konoha's world. His chest tightened. Something stuck inside him. Something that wouldn't go up or down. Like it was about to explode, but never did.
So he cried harder. It didn't help. He shouted. It didn't help. The pressure remained. Unchanging. Unrelenting.
Then, his sword dropped. Kirin. Lightning chakra erupted. Blue light exploded through the rain. BOOM. In moments, the place he once called "home" was reduced to ruins. But the pressure in his chest remained. Still there. Still choking him.
Blood slid from his hand, mixing with rainwater. He collapsed to his knees again. Memories flashed. Precious things. Obito in the playground. Guy's father and the exam results. Graduating at six. Team Minato. Waterfall training with Rin. Minato-sensei's smile.
He tried to smile. His lips moved, but only slightly. Nothing more. Then he returned to that hollow expression.
Rain and blood soaked into the soil. He placed his palm down. A summoning seal appeared. POOF. Pakkun emerged. Same vest. Same Leaf headband. Like a fallen leaf.
"Yo, Kakashi." His voice rose then fell immediately. He froze. He had never seen Kakashi like this. Armless. Unmasked in daylight. Broken.
Kakashi didn't speak. He grabbed Pakkun's forehead protector. A kunai slid into his hand. He pressed it against the headband. His eyes locked onto it. So clean. So reflective. He saw his own face. And memories flooded in.
Minato in blue. Obito shouting. Rin smiling. Guy yelling about youth. Sarutobi smoking. Iruka teaching. Naruto calling him "Kakashi-sensei." Sakura's pink hair. Sasuke's cold voice. All of them. One after another. Voices layered over each other.
"Kakashi, leave Kushina to you." "Idiot Kakashi!"
"Kakashi-sensei!"
"My rival!"
"Kakashi."
"Kakashi."
"Kakashi."
Rain or tears, he couldn't tell anymore.
Pakkun watched as Kakashi collapsed. A grown man on the ground. Crying like a child who lost his way home. Not the famous shinobi. Just a boy who never came back.
"Kakashi." "I, what am I, what am I even, why am I alive." He sobbed. He shook. He pressed the kunai down. Against the headband. His hands trembled violently.
Then, CRACK. The Leaf symbol split in two. BOOM. It felt like everything inside him broke at once. Kakashi stopped crying. He collapsed into the rain. Motionless. Nothing left. Except a broken headband. And a dog sitting beside him.
Pakkun sighed. Then turned. "I know you're there. Come out."
"This guy is badly injured. If he stays in the rain, he'll die."
From the ground, a half-head emerged. Blue-white hair. Purple eyes. Suigetsu. "How do I know this isn't a trap? Now is the perfect time to kill Kakashi." "For him right now, death might be released. You know that better than I do."
Suigetsu clicked his tongue. "Tch. I don't know." Still, he climbed out fully. Carrying Kakashi over his shoulder. He looked at the ruined area.
"Where do I even take him?"
"Karui's place?"
"Is there medicine?"
"If they didn't take it, yes."
"Then move."